


Past, Present, Future

by percyspandapillowpet



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, adult Will and Nico, lots of death discussion, originally written 8/27/2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 13:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10219256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyspandapillowpet/pseuds/percyspandapillowpet
Summary: “We’ll help her, okay?” Will continues. “We’ll do the best that we can. You and I both know what this feels like. We need to give her support and take care of her for a while.”He nods again, glancing at her sleeping form in the cot. She looks a little less pained, and a little more peaceful. Nico is already dreading how she might react when she wakes again.“We’ll take care of her,” he repeats.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back in the summer when I was seriously craving some parent!Solangelo.   
> I've been extremely busy these past few weeks with midterms but I'm going to try to write some new stuff now that I'm on spring break! Enjoy :)

“Someone grab Will, quickly!” Nico shouts across the green.

He’s running down Half-Blood Hill, a girl in his arms and a monster growling behind him—a manticore, of all things. It doesn’t bring back any good memories. Of course, it can’t follow him any further now that he is inside the camp borders, but it had beaten the little girl up pretty badly. Nico had barely any time to study her face, but judging by her height and what she is wearing she is probably only eight or nine.

And she has a pretty nasty wound in her left forearm from the manticore’s spikes.

Nico hears Austin’s voice and sees him running towards him. “Nico! What happened?”

“This girl,” he begins quickly explaining, jogging past Austin and down towards the infirmary. “I found her getting attacked by a manticore. Details later. She’s bleeding out.”

Someone must have heard his message and relayed it, because when he shoves open the door to the infirmary, Will is already bustling around inside. He’s in his “serious doctor mode” as Nico likes to call it, rushing to prepare a cot and bandages and antiseptic. As soon as Nico enters, he whirls around and locks his vision on the girl in his arms.

“Lay her down over here,” he says, sounding much more calm and collected than Nico feels. This girl isn’t quite close to death yet, but Nico can sense that she soon will be if they don’t act fast. He places her on the bed as gently as he can.

“Anything I can do?” he asks, and immediately receives an answer as Will holds out a roll of bandages without even glancing up. He has already cut the length he would need to wrap her arm with.

Will then begins cleaning out the wound, and as soon as his cloth covered in antiseptic touches the girl’s skin, she flinches and lets out a faint yelp of pain. At least that means she is conscious.

“Try to talk to her,” Will instructs as he’s rubbing at her arm. “Hold her other hand.”

Nico does as he is told. He kneels down next to the cot, takes her hand in both of his, and rubs her palm. “Hey. Hey, it’ll be okay. Can you hear me?”

Will shouts for Austin to bring over some ambrosia and nectar, and he steps beside Nico and begins force-feeding it to her. She starts whimpering pitifully at one point as Will dabs at the cut with more alcohol, but after he’s finished wrapping it in the bandage, she sighs, the pain seemingly lessened. Austin gives her the last bit of ambrosia that she can take safely, and then runs out of the infirmary, most likely to inform Chiron of her arrival.

Finished with everything he needed to do, Will kneels by her side opposite Nico and grabs onto her other hand. “Hello? Can you hear me?”

The girl blinks a few times until she can fully open her eyes. “Where—where am I? Where’s Mason?” Her voice is rough and shaky, barely audible.

Will squeezes her hand. “You’re safe now. Do you remember anything of what just happened?”

She blinks again, appearing to be thinking hard for a moment. “There was…a creature. He was big, and scary, and he was shooting spiky things at me.” She paused again. “Where’s Mason? Did it get Mason?”

Will brushes some of her long, platinum-blonde hair out of her face. It’s matted and caked with a bit of blood. “Who is Mason?” he asks softly.

Her lip begins quivering. “My—my brother.” Then she lets out a sob. “He killed Mason! The monster killed Mason!”

Will glances across the bed at Nico, his eyes wide. “Oh, gods, I…I’m so, so sorry.” He pauses, looking at him pleadingly. Nico realizes he has no idea what to say. 

Nico takes over, asking the only thing he can think of. “What is your name?”

She manages to catch her breath for a moment. “O—Olivia. I’m Olivia Masterson.”

Will squeezes her hand again. “And Mason was your brother?”

She nods, more tears rolling down her cheeks. “He’s eleven. I’m eight. We were—we were just playing outside our apartment, in the alley—Momma always told us it was dangerous and we shouldn’t, but we did—and then the big monster appeared, and it hit him!” She falls into another round of sobs, and Nico moves his hand up to her face to wipe away the tears as her frail body trembles.

He immediately feels an intense pang of empathy for her—after all, he had lost his older sister, and also at such a young age. 

He glances over at Will. He’s rubbing at his eyes with his free hand.

Of course—he had witnessed the death of two of his older brothers, his mentors and parental figures, just six years ago. Both of them know just how painful it is to so suddenly lose the person you look up to the most. Neither of them had fully recovered from it.

So they let the girl cry. They let her scream. They hold onto her hands and sob with her and don’t let go until she falls asleep, her heavy sobs turning to whimpers and staggered breaths. Then they both stand, and Will engulfs Nico in a tight embrace, burying his face in the base of his neck.

“I can’t stand this,” Will murmurs. “She’s so young. She shouldn’t have to go through this.”

Nico rubs his hands methodically up and down his back. “I know,” he agrees.

Will chokes out a sob, shivering in Nico’s arms. “It’s just not _fair._ Nothing’s ever fucking fair for a demigod, is it?” He starts crying again, and Nico allows the tears to soak into his shirt. “You don’t think there’s a possibility Mason is still alive, is there?” he asks, a bit too hopefully.

Nico sighs. “No. That’s how I found her, actually—his death. I was walking around in the city when I suddenly sensed the death of a powerful demigod nearby, and I found her like this, beaten and bleeding.” He feels a crushing wave of guilt. “If only I had gotten to them sooner, I could've saved them both—”

Will looks up and places a hand over his mouth. “Don’t. We can’t let this weigh us down. We need to focus on helping her.”

Nico nods.

“We’ll help her, okay?” Will continues. “We’ll do the best that we can. You and I both know what this feels like. We need to give her support and take care of her for a while.”

He nods again, glancing at her sleeping form in the cot. She looks a little less pained, and a little more peaceful. Nico is already dreading how she might react when she wakes again.

“We’ll take care of her,” he repeats.

Will lets his hands fall into Nico’s and squeezes them gently. “Will you stay here with me? I need to be here overnight in case she wakes up.”

“Of course,” Nico replies.

***

Nico awakes to a light tapping on his knee, and his eyes shoot open.

It’s the little girl—Olivia. She’s standing in front of him, studying him with wide pale eyes.

He then recalls where he is and what he’s doing. He’s curled up next to his sleeping boyfriend on the infirmary couch—they are staying there to watch over this little girl, because this little girl had just lost her brother.

“Hi,” Nico says, removing his arm from behind Will and reaching out to hold her hand. 

She refuses to take it, instead choosing to stare at him some more. “You’re the guy who saved me, aren’t you?” she asks curiously.

He nods. “I am. How are you feeling?”

She looks at the floor. “Bad. I don’t feel good. Mason is gone forever, isn’t he?”

Nico nods sadly, not sure how to respond. “Yeah. He is.” Then he reaches for her hand again, and this time she allows him to hold it. “He’ll never really be gone, though, you know.” He points to her heart. “He’ll always be with you, right in there.”

She glances back up at him. “Really?”

He nods again. “Really.”

She continues to study him, and Nico can’t help but feel a bit scrutinized. He isn’t used to this kind of attention, except from Will, of course. He’s also having trouble thinking of what to do next—what do you say to a kid whose older sibling has just died? For Hades’ sake, he has been through it himself. Surely there had been something he wanted that could’ve made him feel better.

 _You wanted to feel loved,_ a voice inside his head tells him. _Bianca was the only one who really loved you, and she was gone. You needed to feel loved by someone—anyone—else._

“I’m Nico,” he says, giving Olivia’s hand a tight squeeze. “It’s nice to meet you.” He hesitates before continuing. “My older sister died when I was close to your age. She was my favorite person in the whole world. I know how you feel. If there’s anything you need, you can ask me.”

She stares at him for a moment before speaking up again. “Who’s that guy?” she asks, pointing to Will.

“This is Will,” Nico replies, gently touching his arm as he continues to sleep through the conversation. He must be extremely tired, which most likely means he hadn’t actually fallen asleep until much later after Nico did. “He helped to save you, too.”

“Oh.” Olivia pauses, and Nico can tell she’s contemplating something. “Can I sit with you?” she asks, her voice quiet and unsure.

After a beat of consideration, Nico nods, holding out his other arm to her. She grabs on, and he pulls her up so she is seated in between him and Will. She then lays her head against Nico’s knee, closes her eyes, and falls fast asleep again almost instantaneously.

“Goodnight, Olivia,” Nico murmurs, resting a hand on her back and stroking it gently. “I’ll take care of you. We both will. We’ll make sure you feel safe here.”

His last thought before falling asleep is how peaceful both Will and Olivia look as they curl up next to each other.

***

“Nico,” a soft voice mumbles. “Nico, we’ve gotta wake up.”

Nico blinks his eyes open, slowly letting in the bright sunlight that pours through the windows. He glances around, registering that he’s still in the infirmary, and that Will and Olivia are still by his side.

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Will yawns. “She’s still asleep, but Chiron wants to talk to us about her. Kayla just stopped by to let me know.” He taps him on the shoulder. “You slept right through the whole thing.”

“I did?” Nico asks, catching onto Will’s yawning. “Sorry.” He removes his arm from around Olivia and stretches both of them out in front of him. “If Chiron wants to talk, I should probably get up, then.”

“As much as I’d love for you to stay here, you probably should,” Will agrees. “Go ahead on up to the Big House. I’ll stay with Olivia until she wakes up.”

Nico nods and rises reluctantly from the couch. As much as he loves the old centaur, he really isn’t in the mood to talk to anyone else at the moment. He could definitely sleep for at least three more hours.

“See you later,” he mumbles, leaning down to plant a kiss on Will’s forehead.

“See you later,” Will echoes, smiling at him as he turns to leave.

A pang of worry strikes Nico’s chest as he quietly closes the door of the infirmary behind him and begins walking toward the Big House. Is Olivia really going to be okay? After Bianca’s death it had taken him years to fully recover, and in that time he had done so many terrible things to himself because of it. Even now, at age twenty, he still has the occasional nightmare about the day Percy stood in front of him and spilled the news. At least these days he has Will—someone who he can confide in whenever he needs to, someone who will always be there to comfort him, no matter what.

He pushes his thoughts aside when he sees Chiron standing out on his porch, his expression solemn as he gazes across the field. 

When he notices Nico, however, he smiles. “Nico! Sorry to wake you so early. Beautiful morning, though, isn’t it?”

Nico nods in agreement, even though he doesn’t really want to be making small talk. There is a little girl whose future is on the line.

Chiron must sense his anxiety, as he frowns and and steps closer once Nico has climbed onto the porch. “I’ve heard about Olivia, and what happened to her brother. Is she feeling alright?”

Nico bites his lip. “I’m not sure, sir. She was crying a lot yesterday.”

Chiron nods. “And so she should be. Did she sleep at all?”

“Yes,” Nico replies. “She slept a little on her own, but then woke Will and I up in the middle of the night—uh, we were on the couch, staying there to keep an eye on her. She wanted to sleep next to us, so we let her. She’s still there now, with Will.”

Chiron hums approvingly. “As soon as I heard you had saved her and brought her to the infirmary, I was hoping she’d take a liking to you two.”

“Why?” Nico asks.

“Because she just lost her older brother, and she can no longer stay with any parents she might’ve had, she doesn’t have any sort of parental figure in her life,” he explains. “Often times, when this happens to a child, they will latch on to the next person they see—like baby ducklings. And that person just so happened to be you.”

Nico feels himself blushing. “I’m sure it’s just temporary, sir. She’ll get claimed, and then she’ll have new siblings, and she’ll make new friends. She won’t need us for long.”

Chiron tilts his head thoughtfully. “Perhaps. But I think having two adults—two adults who have experienced the same tragedy—by her side will help her greatly.”

What is he trying to say? Does he want them to make this child their responsibility, or something? _Why?_

Maybe it’s because they are two of the few adults in camp. Percy and Annabeth are off living in New Rome—after graduating, Annabeth immediately took up a job offer as an architect for the city, and Percy stays home to take care of their daughter. Hazel and Frank also stayed in California, and opened a little café together in downtown San Francisco. Jason and Piper are living in L. A. near Tristan McLean to take care of him in his old age. Reyna is still praetor in Camp Jupiter. All of them make frequent visits to Long Island, but Nico still finds himself missing them constantly. Despite what he felt toward them years ago—hate, jealousy, rejection—he has grown to love them as a family.

He and Will have talked about moving, but they both find the idea daunting. Camp Half-Blood is their home, and they can’t imagine living anywhere else. Nico has begun to enjoy training younger campers, and it gives him something to do with all his pent-up nervous energy. Will, the stubborn idiot, refuses to give up his position as head healer—and he doesn’t want to leave Austin or Kayla or any of his other siblings before they graduate from high school.

Nico spent far too little time at camp when he was young, and now he never wants to leave it behind.

He thinks back to the day he first ran away—his sister was all that mattered to him, and then she was taken away for good.

He can’t bear the thought of Olivia making the same decision he had.

“Okay, sir,” he tells Chiron. “I…we will keep an eye on her.”

Chiron nods. “I’m glad to hear it.” Then he looks past him, toward the cabins. “There they are now.”

Nico turns around. Chiron is right—Will and Olivia are making their way towards the Big House. Will is holding onto her hand, but it looks more like he’s being dragged across the field than enjoying a nice walk. He smiles and waves when he sees them, and Nico returns the gesture.

“I’d like to talk to Olivia,” Chiron says. “Have you explained to her who she is, why she’s here?”

“No, sir, I’m sorry,” Nico apologizes. “We were just focused on comforting her and healing her arm.”

He nods understandingly. “That’s perfectly fine. I can tell her everything myself.” He glances at Will. “Why don’t you two go take a break? Eat some breakfast.”

Nico stands. “Thank you, sir. I’ll be back later to check on her.” Then he makes his way over to Will.

“Hey,” Will greets. “How was your chat?”

“Good,” Nico replies, giving him a look that says he’ll elaborate later. “Chiron wants to talk to Olivia now, and he said we should go eat breakfast.”

Will nods. “Sounds good.” He turns to Olivia. “See that guy up there?” he asks, pointing.

Olivia narrows her eyes. “Is he…a horse?”

“A centaur,” Will corrects gently. “He’s the director of our camp, and he’s going to explain everything to you.” They begin walking up toward the porch, Will still talking to her in his calm, welcoming manner. Nico watches from behind, wondering if he sounds like that when _he_ talks to kids.

He was never very good with them before he became friends with Will. From then on, however, he was spending a portion of nearly every day in the infirmary or the Apollo cabin, which was always full of Will’s younger siblings. He took a liking to each of them individually, and, by some miracle, they all loved him in return. Will pointed this out to him one day, after a little girl named Elizabeth had begged Nico repeatedly to slow dance with her until he finally gave in.

“They’re all crazy about you,” Will said, whispering to Nico from their place on his bed.

Nico watched as they ran around the room, playing charades and singing songs. How could these enthusiastic little balls of energy possibly be fond of someone as boring as _him?_ “I don’t know about that,” he replied.

Will shook his head, giggling softly. “I promise, it’s true. They like you almost as much as I do.”

That was when Nico had blushed furiously, shaken his head repeatedly, and changed the subject immediately.

He watches as Will introduces Olivia to Chiron, gives her one last pat on the head, and then comes jogging back down to Nico. Despite his energy, he still looks like he just woke up—his blond hair is falling in his forehead and looks all matted in the back, he has dark circles developing under his eyes, and each time he blinks it definitely lasts a little longer than normal.

“So,” he says to Nico with a yawn. “Breakfast?”

“Yeah,” Nico agrees. He begins walking towards the dining pavilion, and Will follows, prodding his forearm.

“What did Chiron say?” he asks.

Nico takes Will’s hand in his own. “Well…he basically said that he wants us to look after Olivia, since she no longer has any parental figures in her life.” He hesitates. “What do you think?”

Will shrugs. “I think he has a point.”

Nico nods. “He does. He also mentioned that it would be good for her to talk to us, since we’ve been through the same kind of stuff.” He glances over and saw Will’s cheerful expression drop.

“Oh,” he says quietly. He turns his head and meets Nico’s eyes. “Are you…okay with that? Will you be able to talk about…”

“Bianca?” Nico asks, and Will nods. “Yeah, I think so. It’ll be good for me, too. And you’re fine?”

Will gives a soft smile. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” He squeezes Nico’s hand gratefully. “She seems to like you a lot, by the way. Olivia.”

Nico returns the gesture. “I bet she likes you more.”

Will bumps their shoulders together playfully. “No way. She told me that she woke you up last night and you let her sleep in between us.”

“Yeah. She woke _me_ up. She likes you more, so she wanted to let you sleep.”

Will huffs. “Fine. You win this round. But I _know_ she likes you. You saved her.”

“I guess I did,” Nico replies. 

They step into the pavilion, taking a seat at the Apollo table, and are eagerly greeted by everyone.

“Hey, guys,” Austin says through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. “How’s Olivia doing?”

“She’s doing really well for what she went through yesterday,” Will replies. “I mean, she’s devastated, obviously. But at least she was able to get out of bed today, and she only cried a little bit this morning when I reminded her where she was and what had happened. She’s talking with Chiron now.”

Then the youngest current Apollo camper—Selena—pipes up. “Are you and Nico going to adopt her?”

She is immediately shushed by Kayla, Austin, and nearly all of the other older campers.

Nico immediately feels himself turning red, and Will starts stammering.

“Uh, no. I mean, not right now. Or, like, not ever, but—I don’t know—”

“Sorry!” Kayla blurts, blushing up to her ears. “We told her not to say that.”

“Kayla was the one who suggested it first, though,” Austin adds hastily.

“Shut up!” she hisses back at him.

Nico isn’t sure if he should start laughing or bolt out of the pavilion and hide in his cabin. 

“I think they should, though!” little Selena says.

“Uh, yeah,” Nico stutters, deciding to go with the second option. “Gotta go.” Before anyone can object, he’s jumping up from the table and practically sprinting away, making a beeline toward the campfire and the ring of cabins.

“Nico!” Will calls after him, to no avail.

Nico knows he shouldn’t be doing this, just walking away from every uncomfortable situation he encounters, but he doesn’t feel like fighting his anxiety this time. He runs past a group of campers playing volleyball, runs past a few stragglers hanging out on their front porches, and runs straight into his cabin, slamming the door behind him.

Then he collapses on his bed and stares at the ceiling.

He immediately begins to regret taking off on Will like that. Oh, gods, _Will…_ he probably either hates him or hates his siblings right now, or both. He’s probably too embarrassed to speak to him for the rest of the day. He’s probably—

Nico’s thoughts cease as abruptly as they started when he hears a knock on the door.

“Nico?” Will’s muffled voice calls. “Nico, I’m coming in.”

He doesn’t sit up, just watches as Will enters his cabin, glances around with wide eyes, and then gives a cautious smile when he spots Nico on the bed. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Nico replies.

Will walks over and sits down next to him. He doesn’t say anything more, just pushes a piece of hair off of Nico’s forehead and begins twirling it with his finger. His hair isn’t nearly as long as it used to be, but Will begged him to not cut it all off. Nico closes his eyes, letting the warmth of the touch wash over him.

It was little moments like these that made him fall in love with Will Solace, and every day he still finds himself enjoying them more and more.

“So,” Will says after a few moments, “I know that was awkward.”

Nico nods, his eyes still shut. He didn’t want to open them and see Will’s face, not yet.

“I was thinking about it, though,” he continues, “and maybe they have a point. I mean, obviously they weren’t just trying to tease us, Nico. And I know we haven’t talked a whole lot about the future, but…”

The meaning behind Will’s words comes crashing down onto him, and suddenly he sits up, wraps his arms around him tightly, and buries his face in Will’s shirt.

“Oh,” Will sighs, bringing his hands to Nico’s back. “Okay.” He hesitates, massaging Nico gently before speaking again. “Okay, so, I was thinking…”

“Idiot,” Nico mumbles into his shoulder. “Of course I’m going to stay with you. Come on, we’ve been together for _five years_.”

Will chuckles. “Well, four years, if we take into account that we spent an entire one just pining over each other.” They both laugh. “But, yeah…I think we’ll be together for a really long time. Hopefully.”

“Definitely,” Nico agrees, feeling the old skeletal butterflies resurrect once again in his stomach. 

“So, do you want to, uh…” Will continues, stammering and blushing. “Do you want to, like…you know.”

Nico can’t help laughing. “Come on, you dork, spit it out.”

Will giggles, too, burying his face in the top of Nico’s head. “I’m so bad at this—fuck it. Nico di Angelo, will you marry me?”

Nico feels like crying, laughing, and running around in circles screaming at the same time. Instead, he lifts his head and kisses Will Solace.

Will kisses him right back. Nico falls back onto the mattress.

He only pulls away when he can’t hold his breath any longer.

“I take that as a yes?” Will asks innocently, lighting up the entire room with his grin.

Nico nods, smiling like an idiot, and pulls him back down by his shirt collar to meet his lips.

***

Nico knows that Will is beside him before he even opens his eyes.

He can tell by the warmth and pressure against his side. He can tell by the smell of citrus and honey and medical sterilizer that’s taking over his senses. He can tell by the soft breathing that tickles his cheek and the happiness that fills him from head to toe just from the memory that quickly returns to him.

Nico feels himself smiling involuntarily—a rare occurrence, but one that has become increasingly less so over the last five years.

Next to him, Will groans and stretches his arms, laying one across Nico’s stomach. He finally blinks his eyes open.

“Hey,” Will yawns.

“Hey,” Nico replies.

Will frowns, and for a moment Nico is struck with a familiar panic. What if—

“Did that actually happen?” Will asks. “Like, that wasn’t a dream, right?”

Nico rests a hand on his arm nervously. “Did what happen?”

Will’s eyes meet his, and he’s struck with how blue they look in the afternoon light. “Did I actually…you know.”

Nico can’t resist it—he’d never, ever pass up an opportunity to tease him. “No, I don’t know. What did you do?”

Now Will’s the worried one. His eyes widen, and his face flushes. “Oh. So I didn’t, then. It _was_ a dream.”

Nico feels himself smiling again, and he tries to cover it by looking at the ceiling. “What did you think you did?” he asks, feigning innocence. “Propose to me, or something?”

Then Will notices, and Nico bursts into laughter, burying his face in the pillow next to him.

Will punches his arm lightly. “You cheeky little—gods of Olympus, Nico, I was terrified!”

Nico’s still laughing, and Will joins in, and then he turns back around and kisses him.

“Will Solace,” he says, pressing their foreheads together, “I will never let you live this down.”

Will hums. “I guess that means you’re going to have to stick around for a while, then.”

“I guess so,” Nico agrees. Then he reaches up to move a golden lock of hair from his face, when suddenly his finger feels heavy and his eyes land on his skull ring.

He’s worn it since he was eleven years old. It was a gift from his father, one given out of pity and apology rather than real love.

But he loves Will. He’s sure of that.

He leans back, removing his hands from Will, and slides it off his finger.

Will’s staring. “What are you doing?”

Then Nico takes Will’s hand in his own, carefully and gently, and fits it over his finger. “I want you to have it.”

Will looks at the ring, and then at him, and then back again, speechless. “You’re—you’re serious?”

Nico nods, squeezing his hand. “It holds nothing but painful memories for me. But…you’ve given me good ones.” He knows he’s probably not making any sense. He feels his face heating up. “I mean, if you don’t want it that’s okay, but I thought…since, you know, rings are kind of a tradition…” He trails off when he notices a tear roll down Will’s cheek. “Oh, gods, Will! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s perfect,” Will gasps, cutting him off. “It’s perfect, Nico. I love it.” He pauses, meeting his eyes again. “I love _you_.”

Nico’s breath hitches in his throat, and he can’t say anything, so he does what he likes to do best—kiss Will.

Will smiles against his lips, and starts giggling when they pull away from each other.

“What’s so funny?” Nico asks.

Will kisses his forehead. “Oh, nothing,” he says in between laughs. “Just…happy.” He then sits up, clears his throat, and folds his hands. “So, when do you want to have the wedding?”

Nico groans and rolls over. “Just let me sleep.”

Will laughs again and pokes his cheek. “We need to get a day, a time, a venue, a cake, bridesmaid dresses—”

“Don’t make me regret my decision.”

Will pats his arm sympathetically. “Oh, I will. Nico, I guarantee that by the end of this you’ll want to send me straight to the Fields of Punishment.”

Nico huffs and turns back around. “Maybe that’s a good idea. Then _I_ wouldn’t have to be the one to invite my father.” Suddenly his heart sinks. “Oh gods, I’m going to need to tell him, aren’t I?”

Will chuckles. “Yes, dear, it’s very important to tell your father that you’re getting married. In fact, you might even want to tell him the time and place, and ask him to attend!”

Nico raises an eyebrow. “He’s going to interrogate you, you know.”

Will shrugs. “I’m ready for it.”

With a laugh, Nico sits up, facing him. “You really think so?”

“Yeah,” Will replies, nodding. “I’m ready for that, and I’m ready to get married to you, and I’m ready to adopt Olivia.”

Nico hums in agreement and takes Will’s hands in his own. “Sounds great to me, then.” He pauses. “Where are we gonna live? Here?”

“I’m thinking an apartment. Downtown Manhattan, walking distance from camp but also from all the cool city stuff. We’ll get some privacy, for once, but we can still work here.”

“Seems like you’ve given this a lot of thought already,” Nico points out.

Will blushes. “Maybe a little too much, huh?”  
Chuckling, Nico leans over and kisses him. “I like it, though. I think it will be perfect.”

Will smiles. “Anywhere with you would be perfect.”

“Oh, really? Even my father’s dungeons?”

He winces, and Nico laughs. “Okay, scratch that. Maybe not _anywhere._ But you get the point.”

Nico laces their fingers together. “I sure do.”

Just then, there’s a soft knock at the door—a child’s knock. They lock eyes, and both immediately know who’s behind it.

Will stands first and offers Nico a hand. “Shall we, fiancé?”

“That’s worse than _Death Boy_ ,” Nico grumbles, but he takes it.


End file.
